Here is another example of how CT works on the wrong stuff. The problem in Hartford was never really campaign financing it was and still is lobbyists doing the work of our so-called citizen legislators. There are a number of states as the NYT article points out that have taken on lobbying reform but not CT.

Surprisingly good interview. Very well done! Amazing at how well you all held my attention throughout the broadcast. (oops, I mean podcast.)

Can you tell me, is this one of an existing series? Or was this your first go at this?

I'm hoping you can get Ned Lamont to do an interview sometime sooner. My suspicion is that yours would be a much better format for him than the Q & A we had here. Would it be possible to take live callers??

Glad you like the podcast! This is actually the sixth episode we've produced. You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes and have it download automatically every time a new episode is posted. Yahoo also does a nice job of keeping track of our episodes. We can be found here.

Aldon and Chris Mc have joined us on a few prior episodes and we hope to get them back on again soon.

This latest episode is probably the best sounding of the series thus far. I bought some audio equipment to get the sound more balanced.

As far as future guests are concerned, we're really going to be focusing on young elected officials and candidates over the next few months.

There are some great young people stepping up to the plate in 2006 ready to wage credible legislative campaigns in Republican districts. We'll be profiling many of them as well as interviewing young municipal candidates the Connecticut Young Democrats assisted during the 2005 cycle. That will be our focus for now.

Most podcasts handle the 'call in' aspect of the broadcast by having those asking questions email mp3 recordings. The nature of Podcasting is that everything is live to tape and not live to broadcast, so this is the most effective way to handle that.

Do the election machine companies have lobbyists and had they contributed to Susan Bysiewicz's defunct gubernatorial campaign? If anyone, who are they contributing to now?

If and when these machines come online is on the minds of many. Will seniors be disuaded from voting with a computer? Last year during trial runs some simply left the polling place in frustration, leading to possible charges of depriving one of a simple way to vote.

I personally find it suspect that the SoS was so motivated to push these machines into place, then suddenly cancels them after additional trials. What's the real reason for the delay? Where's the money coming from and going to?

It is significant that Henry Genga got more than 1/5 of his vote from the Working Families Party line. This must be a record for WFP. In the 2004 state legislative elections, they averaged 2.9% in the senate and 3.4% in the house races. Granted, the turnout in East Hartford was small, but they got people out, and that's what counts. The Working Families strategy of cross-endorsements is based on keeping elected officials accountable to the base who delivered that section of the vote, and 21% of the vote is a good base for them to start with for Genga.

Wolcottboy,I don't think Bysiewicz was bought off by companies, but I do think that on the issues of voting machines and voter verified paper ballots, she has established a pattern of making stupid decisions, dismissing evidence and counter-arguments, and digging in her heels. Then when it becomes politically or legally unfeasible to continue on her original track, she suddenly reverses direction. She exhibits a fatal combination of incompetence, laziness, and arrogance. The state deserves better.

The Senate Republicans do the right thing (and, well, probably the self-interested thing too) and call for a closing of the loopholes that allow huge contributions from leadership PACs and shut out third parties (AP and CT News Junkie).

David Bauer, the Middletown Council candidate whose lawsuit over a faulty voting machine forced a re-vote won the seat he wanted tonight. The Dems maintain control of the Council.

Anyone have any thoughts on Lieberman being pretty tough with the White House on the Katrina investigation? saw him on CNN this am and he was pretty stern in pointing out that the White House has not been cooperating.

Of course, Joe is going to vote against Alito, it isn't about what he learned from the hearings it's about what he he heard from the DTC's about Iraq during the hearings. He needs a gimmee from the DTC's. It's never about policy for this guy.

Of course Joe was tough on the Whitehouse on the Katrina response, if he wasn't he'd have to admit that his committee wasn't doing the necessary oversight on the HS Department prior to the response, or non-response - he's a pro. But ot be non-partisan so is Chris Shays!